Willows
by Mr. Osborne
Summary: On her Birthday, Olivia makes a wish. The next morning, she wakes up to find herself on an unfamiliar riverbank.


Date: December 19, 2005

Author: Mr. Osborne

Category: Crossover/Humor/Drama

Spoilers: Loss, Ghost, Closure I/II, Fallacy, Choice, Care, and the Cosgrove Hall TV movie "Wind in the Willows."

Summary: Detective Benson gets an unexpected birthday gift when, one night, she goes to sleep and wakes up to find herself on an unfamiliar riverbank. Though she has a packed bag with clothes, toiletries, badge and gun, there's no sign of her cell phone. Along the way, she finds her friend Alex Cabot, and together, they explore this world. Upon finding a house in the river, they approach it only to see the shock of their lives--people who look like a Badger, Rat, and Mole. They are overflown by a vintage airplane being piloted by a... Toad?

Notes: Takes place immediately after the "Wind in the Willows" Cosgrove Hall tv movie, where our two women find themselves face-to-face with Mr. Toad.

The point of the story is two-fold: one, the two women reunite in a world where they are safe from their enemies and free to be themselves. Two, they interact with characters who give them a new perspective on life--especially Mr. Toad.

I guess there's a third point: they realize that they can't take life too seriously or it'll blind them to what they already have.

I felt I had to write this, that on the show there is little humor or hope for our characters (ok, Munch is an exception, but we need so much more). I feel that Olivia has so much guilt and darkness that she needs to be shown a little (ok, a lot of) light.

This fic is quite obviously unfinished. I don't know where I'm going to go with it, but I've decided on two things:

No crimes in this story—discounting Toad's antics. Alex and Olivia would end up telling their new friends about their pasts, but leave out several details about the criminals and their crimes.

It won't be dark. Anyone who has seen the 1983 TV movie knows that the world portrayed in this story is beautiful, light, and humorous.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own the characters, the show, nor do I get a penny out of this.

"Willows"

She felt happy, maybe the happiest she ever felt in a while. But, it was bittersweet, there was one person absent from the party: Alex.

Detective Olivia Benson made her way up to her apartment. It was her birthday, and her friends made sure she celebrated it. They all needed it as much as she did. It seemed like they ran into one terrible case after another every day, and it was wearing them down.

Olivia unlocked the door to her apartment and went inside, closing and locking the door behind her. She placed her mail, along with some gifts, on the kitchen counter, then decided to make some tea. They surprised her at work, making her blush, handing out cake to her friends and then a dinner, homemade, that was probably the best she'd eaten in a long time. They handed out presents, and told stories about how they met her; she thought she'd die of embarrassment.

As tradition required, when she blew out the candles on the cake, she made a wish. She hoped it came true.

While the water heated on the stove, she went through her mail. There were quite a few birthday cards; Harper Anderson, Jennifer Fulton, Carrie Huit, Glenn and... "what the," she thought. There were at least two others, both without return addresses. One of them had familiar handwriting, whereas the other merely had a printed label.

Olivia opened the first one, knowing who the sender was. It was a beautiful card, decorated in pink (her favorite color) with a handwritten message inside.

"Olivia, I'm sorry I couldn't be there, but I want you to know that I thought of you. Happy birthday Liv. Love, A"

That had to be the best one of all.

Then, she carefully opened the other one. The card itself depicted a beautiful river, countryside and an old English mansion in the distance. Inside, there was a single sentence, in script print that said: "May your wish be granted."

There wasn't a signature, nor any other clue as to who sent it. The post mark showed it was mailed yesterday from Manhattan. A secret admirer perhaps?

A whistle from the kettle broke her thoughts as she got up to remove the kettle from the stove and brew some tea.

Olivia re-read Alex's card. She missed her; she missed her friend so much. After Liam Connors' trial, Alex left again, this time without a word. Hammond said only that she and Antonio were being relocated and to say goodbye. Though they were saddened by her departure, they understood.

Alex may have been insistent about making sure her friends knew she was alive, but there was someone else to consider this time: Antonio. Alex may willingly risk her life, but not that little boy's; not after all he'd been through.

With a sigh, she sat down and read the other cards.

Harper was doing fine. She was now a rape crisis counselor and considered one of the best; right up there with Bethany Taylor. They didn't keep in touch these days outside of work, but they still had a bond. To her relief, after Cleary's death, she got rid of her ridiculously large Desert Eagle. Though she now owned a 9-mil P226 and still practiced on the firing range. They'd sometimes meet and practice together. Her aim was still impressive.

Carrie's note warmed her. She finally got reengaged to Eric, her fiancé. Olivia last saw her a month ago and she was doing incredibly well. The young woman had started talking to her boyfriend again at her insistence, and he agreed that he'd wait as long as it took. They started sleeping together--not sex, they just slept--about two months after Gardener's death. Slowly, they regained a lot of lost ground. Carrie was happy again. There was also a Wedding invitation enclosed. Olivia hoped she could make it.

Jennifer's card warmed her as much. The divorce was final and she was keeping full custody of her child. Though they lost the franchise, she had landed on her feet more or less. Her baby had been born, no sign of FAS, a healthy girl. She still sees her first daughter, Lilly, as often as she could. It helped her a lot. Jennifer was dating again, but she was careful because of her bad experience with her ex-husband.

Olivia laughed with delight at Glenn's card. He and the Adams sisters got together to make a card for her. Glenn had gone back into the foster care system after Rudd's death. But, Olivia, Alex and Huang made sure he got help. He ended up with a wonderful foster family; all three had met them, and liked them. He'd write to her every once in a while and visited her at the station house. Glenn and his "sisters" spent time together whenever they could.

Now eighteen, he would babysit them at times. On the inside of the card was written "To the Greatest Detective in the world, Happy Birthday Olivia." Each of them signed it, and there was a separate note from the girls' mother, Tishara. Everyone was doing great, she and her boyfriend--now husband of nearly three years--had finally bought a house in Queens, and were quite happy. On the front was a drawing of a Knight with a sword and shield, and the three girls, dressed as Maidens. The third, of course, represented their murdered sister, who was with them in spirit.

Spirit, something that the Detective seemed to lack these days. No husband, no children, and a job that taxed her emotionally virtually 24/7. Though she does date, no one has really clicked for her yet.

Because of the anthrax incident, and the government's ill-made decision to cover it up, she now had the threat of losing her job, her pension, and freedom; though that was nothing new. A reporter was being held in jail because of her, and it hurt. It hurt because the day she visited Jackson, his words touched her. He got in, and affected her more than she realized. Maybe it could be something more. She may never know.

Rather than dwell on what could've been, she finished her tea, showered, and dressed for bed. The cards and gifts on the coffee table were forgotten as she fell asleep.

The dream she was having was odd because it was one she never had before. There was the sound of flowing water, ducks quacking and birds singing. She sworn she could smell flowers, grass, and other plant life. Sunlight was shining through her eyelids. She covered her eyes with a hand and rolled over in bed. Only to find the bed was hard-- "what the hell?"

She opened her eyes to find that she wasn't in bed, but on a grass-covered ground. The Detective was on her feet in a flash, but it took her sleep-muddled mind a few moments to realize she wasn't in her apartment anymore, nor even in New York for that matter. She was still dressed in her sleepwear from the night before--a black tank top and track pants. The grass felt cool and lush under her bare feet. It was a warm day. Mid-morning from where the sun was in the sky--or it was mid-afternoon? She couldn't tell since she left her watch on the night stand.

Her foot nudged something next to her, which prompted Olivia to look down to see her overnight bag. Opening it, she saw her watch, one of her favorite necklaces, wallet, badge and gun, with its holster and spare clips, on top. Below that, her toiletry bag and some clothes. Rummaging around inside the bag, her cellphone was nowhere to be found. This didn't make much sense to the sex crimes Detective.

"Someone kidnaps me," she thought, "packs a bag with everything I'd need for a vacation including my badge and gun, then leaves me next to a river to wake up?"

"Hello," she called out. "Is there anyone here? Hello?" The only response was the quacking of a duck that was swimming by.

Figuring now was as good a time as ever, she checked her gun--finding it was as she left it last night--and dressed quickly. For modesty's sake, she kept on what she was wearing and merely added a baby-blue t-shirt, socks, and shoes. Whoever packed the bag was thoughtful enough to include a pair of comfortable athletic shoes, appropriate for hiking, as well as her favorite leather jacket. There was also a bottle of orange juice and a granola bar.

Finding that both were still sealed, she drank some of the juice, but held off on the food. Confusion and anxiety were being won out by curiosity. Where was she? Who brought her here and why?

She was startled by a female voice calling out and drew her gun. "Hello?" The voice came from down river.

Olivia quickly replied. "Here! Hello? Can you hear me?" Grabbing her bag, she started toward the source, when a figure suddenly rose from some vegetation. It was a woman, her hair was long and fell below her shoulders, she turned toward her.

"Olivia?"

She froze in her tracks when she recognized the owner of that voice. It was someone she never expected to see.

"Alex?"

Like her, it appeared that she just woke up, and was dressed in pajamas as well: a pair of navy sweats. Holstering her weapon, she rushed toward where the former ADA was sitting and enveloped her in a warm hug.

"This has to be a dream." Alex said.

"It must be," she said. When they drew apart, Olivia held onto her hands, which felt real enough.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know." Olivia noticed the bag on the ground. "First, get dressed."

"With wha-" Olivia pointed to the spot where a bag laid. Alex opened it to find her own clothing, toiletries, and some of her favorite accessories were inside, along with another bottle of orange juice and an energy bar.

Given how warm it was, she put away the sweat shirt, leaving a gray t-shirt. Like Olivia, she put on a pair of athletic shoes and slung her bag over her shoulder.

Alex looked over at her friend, noticing that she looked rested and far better than she was almost a year ago. Her hair had grown out further, and was a little lighter. Her face still had the worry lines and stress, and appeared a little more weary, but otherwise healthy. "Do you know where we are?"

"Other than this place reminding me of one of my birthday cards, not a clue," Olivia said. "It looks like we could stay here or..." pointing downstream, "follow the river."

"Let's follow the river." With that, they stood up and began walking.

They began to talk, catching up on each other since they last saw each other. Despite the unusual circumstances, it felt good just talking again without fear of being followed, watched, or threatened.

Whoever did this couldn't have been Velez or Connors' friends; they wouldn't have been so thoughtful as to pack a bag for them. Plus, this definitely wasn't Columbia, nor any other country in South America. They were just about to talk about the card she received last night when Alex hushed her.

"Do you hear that?"

Olivia went still and listened. Then she heard it, it was faint, but definitely man-made. An engine of some kind. Alex scanned the surrounding area, then looked toward the skies and pointed. "Look!"

It was an airplane, like the kind that was in the same generation as the Wright Brothers. Bi-winged, light in color. It was buzzing across the sky, dipping and climbing, coming perilously close to crashing and then back up toward the skies.

"The pilot must be a Dare Devil," Alex said. "Or insane," Olivia murmured.

They continued along the river, and in the distance saw a dirt road. The two women made their way down the road, toward where, they assumed, the area the plane was flying over. Eventually, they came upon a wooden fence alongside and a set of stone stairs which curved down to a house situated by the river.

They looked down and froze. There were three men, or at least they appeared to be men, talking. One of them, quite clearly older than the other two, was sitting on the stairs painting, the other was in a boat on the river, and the third was painting part of a house.

But it wasn't their clothes, the setting, or their actions that shocked them. Nor did the three resemble any perp that the two had dealt with. It was the fact that they were animals--literally. A rat, a mole, and a badger. They were about the same height and size as a typical human, and they were talking!

Alex and Olivia walked toward the head of the stairs and heard a snippet of their conversation.

"I must say," the badger said, "he's becoming more like this father everyday. We may, indeed, congratulate ourselves."

"Still," the mole said with a tinge of disappointment, "it was rather exciting. I'm almost sorry it's all over..." The mole was interrupted by the sound of a familiar engine.

Everyone suddenly looked up, skyward. Olivia and Alex turned around in time to see the same plane from earlier bearing down on them. Olivia pushed Alex to the ground just in time. Everyone else ducked as the plane shot overhead, barely grazing the badger and the house, dipping into the river, nearly crashing into the boat and its occupant, before climbing back up toward the sky.

Olivia recovered first, rolling onto her back and was back on her feet in an instant. Instinctively, she drew her gun from its holster and thumbed off the safety only to hear the pilot call out.

From the sound of things, he was clearly having the time of his life. "Ha ha! Hello you fellows!" He waved down cheerfully.

"Holy shi-" Their thoughts were interrupted by the protests by the three situated below. Clearly, they knew the pilot and weren't particularly thrilled by his antics.

"YOU MANIAC!" The rat said, waving his fist in the air.

"LOCK HIM UP!" Called out the badger.

"Toad! This time you've gone too far!" Said the mole.

Alex caught a glimpse of the madman behind the stick. "Oh my god," she breathed. The pilot was an amphibian, decked out in proper vintage aviation attire. He called out again to his friends below, who either didn't hear their protests or was too caught up in the moment to care.

"Hang motoring! This is the life!" He continued to fly erratically, going into loop-to-loops and laughing with pure delight.

Then Olivia realized, remembering one of her mother's books from years ago, he's-- "Mr. Toad?" Olivia was incredulous.

Alex turned toward her friend, a look of disbelief on her face, "The Wind in the Willows?" A new sound drew them back to the scene unfolding before them.

Smoke started trailing the plane, and the engine started sputtering. "Uh oh," they said in unison. Their concern was shared by the three animals below, though they could only hear Badger's grumbling.

They all watched the plane descend, Toad coughing and trying to deflect some of the smoke that was in his face, before the engine finally sputtered and died. Then, it dropped like a stone right onto the ground with a spectacular crash. The three animals, along with the two women, made their way swiftly toward the downed aircraft.

Between their concern and annoyance over their friend, Badger, Rat and Mole didn't notice the two humans.

There was smoke rising from the collapsed remains of the airplane. Fortunately, Toad himself was unhurt and unruffled. Badger was first to the scene, and didn't waste any time chastising him for his latest folly.

Still coming off from his enjoyment, he did his best to pacify his late father's friend.

"Ah, Badger, you're just the chap I wanted to see," Mr. Toad said cheerfully. "Toad..." Badger grumbled. "Yes, it was magnificent wasn't it? The only way to travel. Here today, and in next month tomorrow! Ha ha! Ah, hello Rat, and hello to you too Mole."

Rat sighed. He was annoying and foolish at times, but he was still a good and loyal friend. "Toad..." he started. What were they going to do with him? Toad was perceptive too, as he noticed the two human women first. "Ah, hello."

Badger grumbled, "hmm?" The three turned to see two beautiful women, one of whom was holding a strange-looking pistol in her hand. They were dressed in strange clothes, and looked as if they hadn't freshened up yet.

The two stared, open-mouthed, at the foursome, as if the sight of four Englishmen were as strange as seeing ghosts. Or perhaps they witnessed the crash and were in some sort of shock. Or maybe they had never even seen an airplane before.

"Oh my," said Mole.

Remembering his manners, Rat started first. "Good morning," he greeted them warmly.

"Uh.. hi," the dark-haired woman said.

Apparently, they were a bit out of sorts. They weren't wearing any makeup, their hair appeared disheveled, and it looked as if the two had spent the night sleeping on the ground. Not to mention that their clothes seemed like undergarments. Although, except for their arms, they were fully covered. Yet, they didn't resemble any style the foursome were familiar with.

Alex got a hold of herself first and greeted them formally, "good morning gentlemen," addressing Toad, "are you all right? You had a pretty nasty crash."

Mr. Toad dismissed her concern with a wave of a hand. "Oh, I'm perfectly allright. Oh how spectacular. How exciting, and free it was, and--"

"Toad, stop boasting and behave yourself," Rat admonished.


End file.
